Mysterious disappearance of Zebb Quinn

[Harry D]

I posted about this story in one of the unsolved mysteries threads but it didn't drum up any interest, so maybe this will.

Zebb Quinn was an 18 year-old man from Asheville, North Carolina, who went missing on January 2, 2000. Here's a break of the circumstances surrounding his disappearance:

* Zebb is apparently going to view a car for sale. He's accompanied by his friend, Robert Jason Owens, and the two of them take separate cars.

* According to Owens, Zebb suddenly pulls over because he's received an urgent message on his pager. After making a call at the nearest payphone, Zebb cancels the car viewing and frantically drives off, rear-ending Owens' vehicle as he pulls away.

* Later that night Owens is treated for injuries after a second car accident, which he fails to report to the police.

* Zebb's mother files a missing person's report.

* The next morning a man purporting to be Zebb phones up his workplace saying that he won't be able to make it into work today. The call is treated as suspicious and police trace it back to Owens. Owens states that Zebb had asked him to call in sick as a favour.

* Police verify that the mysterious page sent to Zebb was from his auntie's phone, who previously had little to do with Zebb. That night she was having dinner with a friend, Tamra Taylor, who was the mother of Misty, a girl Zebb was smitten for. Misty, and her boyfriend, Wesley also stop by the aunt's house that night.

* Zebb's aunt initially denies contacting Zebb, then tells the police that her house had been broken into that evening. Nothing had been stolen but apparently several items had been moved about.

* Two weeks after his disappearance, Zebb's car is found abandoned in a restaurant parking lot, near to his mother's workplace. Inside the car they find empty alcohol bottles, a hotel keycard, and bizarrely a live three-month old Labrador puppy. They also see a pair of lips have been drawn in lipstick on the car windshield.

...Zebb hasn't been seen since.

This strikes me as one of those cases that should be relatively easy to solve but the police are probably just waiting for one of the numerous parties involved to slip up. Even Inspector Clouseau would smell a rat with Owens' behaviour. I have serious doubts that he did indeed have a second car accident that night. Sure, it's possible, but I think he was using that to cover up what really happened with Zebb that night. As for him calling Zebb's workplace pretending to be him, why couldn't Zebb call himself and throw a sickie? We've all done it. That guy's definitely hiding something.

I don't believe the aunt's story at all about a break-in. It's all too convenient and coincidental to me, that Zebb's auntie happens to be having dinner with the mother of his crush, along with said crush and her boyfriend (who according to Zebb was abusive to Misty), on the night that Zebb is last seen.

What do you guys think?

[Ginger]

The idea that Quinn and Owens each drove themselves on their way for Quinn to look at a car for sale rings wrongly as well. When you contemplate buying a car, you have a friend give you a ride there, for obvious reasons.

[Penhalion]

The elaborate nature of the disappearance points to someone who knew him being involved. If it was a simple stranger kidnapping(murder?) there would be no series of ruses nor would there be the odd items left in the car near his mother's place of employment. The lips drawn on the windshield suggests a woman although there's room for debate on that one. I would love to know the odometer reading on the car after it was found. Was someone driving it around for the two weeks it was missing or was it in the parking lot the whole time? And what's up with the puppy? Definitely strange but I will be really surprised if Owens isn't involved on some level given all of his odd behavior at the time.

[Harry D]

The idea that Quinn and Owens each drove themselves on their way for Quinn to look at a car for sale rings wrongly as well. When you contemplate buying a car, you have a friend give you a ride there, for obvious reasons.

Indeed, I thought that was particularly fishy. I wonder if the car for sale was ever corroborated? Surely it wouldn't have been hard to chase that up if Owens was telling the truth? Like I said, I think the injuries Owens sustained that night are probably linked to Zebb's disappearance. Perhaps he fought back or they had an altercation beforehand?

The elaborate nature of the disappearance points to someone who knew him being involved. If it was a simple stranger kidnapping(murder?) there would be no series of ruses nor would there be the odd items left in the car near his mother's place of employment. The lips drawn on the windshield suggests a woman although there's room for debate on that one. I would love to know the odometer reading on the car after it was found. Was someone driving it around for the two weeks it was missing or was it in the parking lot the whole time? And what's up with the puppy? Definitely strange but I will be really surprised if Owens isn't involved on some level given all of his odd behavior at the time.

I believe it was said in one of the documentaries that an eyewitness reported seeing a woman who matched Misty's description driving the car. Most people studying the case are of the belief that the puppy was a gift from Zebb to Misty, who decided to abandon it when they realized it was potentially incriminating evidence.

[Rosella]

Were there any direct links known to exist between Owens and Zebb's auntie, or between Owens and the other parties? Because if there weren't, it's an even odder set of circumstances.

Is it true that Jason Owens is in jail now for another offence and has been advised by his lawyer to say nothing about the Quinn disappearance?

[Harry D]

For anyone who hasn't been following the case, Jason Owens has been arrested on suspicion of murdering a missing Asheville couple, Joseph & Cristie Codd. Owens had previously worked for the Codds as a construction contractor. He admitted to police that he broke into the Codd's home, and apparently confessed to his wife that he killed Joseph Codd by running him down with his pick-up truck. Police have yet to determine a motive.

Police have found human remains inside a burned out mobile home on Owens' property. The property was torched while Owens was already in jail, so he must have an accomplice. As with Zebb's disappearance, it does appear that there is more than one player involved. It's also interesting that Owens preferred MO was vehicular homicide, and he just happened to have an 'unrelated' car accident the night that Zebb disappeared.

Although this isn't being treated as related to Zebb's disappearance, it could be a major breakthrough in uncovering the truth. Hopes are that if the death penalty is put on the table Owens might admit to what happened to Zebb.

[John G]

Were there any direct links known to exist between Owens and Zebb's auntie, or between Owens and the other parties? Because if there weren't, it's an even odder set of circumstances.

Is it true that Jason Owens is in jail now for another offence and has been advised by his lawyer to say nothing about the Quinn disappearance?

Hello Rosella,

I've just watched the Discovery Channel documentary and it was stated that the police were unable to establish any prior link between Owens and the other suspects/persons of interest.

[GUT]

The car question really puzzles me.